An email with more info is coming (it takes a while to get send to everyone), and everyone should have it in time for the launch. Additionally, a blog and JRS post is coming very soon, and I understand that the tickets FAQ page will update shortly to include additional information regarding STEP.

vargaso wrote:OK, just got my email, still not sure how the queue will be ordered, says my link to register won't open until March 2, not sure if that's how all STEP emails are, or if that indicates my place in the queue.

So yours had a link? Mine ends with:

Please read all of these instructions carefully, then click the link below to begin the process of converting your original registration to a request for a place on the WANT list. (NOTE: Your link will not be active until 12 noon (PST) Friday, March 2)

RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED

I already sent an email off to tickets, but meanwhile I'm not sure what to make of that at all.

"rate limit exceeded" is an example of how difficult it is to send out lots of emails at once!!

id guess the "generate a unique URL for me!" script couldnt keep up with the "send an email!!" script that called it

i have to send out lotsa emails (about 200 people worth) at once each year for stuff related to my village (each one with unique info) and even doing THAT is difficult....thousands of them surely cant be easy....even for the 200 i do it takes lotsa 'tests' that send nothing but.. run through the motions to see how it all works..

gotta end up putting in lotsa stuff to stop problems like this happening... and thats just for 200~..

i imagine once you scale it up, and even after lots of testing.. any little slowdown can screw the pooch..

lemur wrote:"rate limit exceeded" is an example of how difficult it is to send out lots of emails at once!!

id guess the "generate a unique URL for me!" script couldnt keep up with the "send an email!!" script that called it

i have to send out lotsa emails (about 200 people worth) at once each year for stuff related to my village (each one with unique info) and even doing THAT is difficult....thousands of them surely cant be easy....even for the 200 i do it takes lotsa 'tests' that send nothing but.. run through the motions to see how it all works..

gotta end up putting in lotsa stuff to stop problems like this happening... and thats just for 200~..

i imagine once you scale it up, and even after lots of testing.. any little slowdown can screw the pooch..

surely aint an easy job.. thats for sure!

Believe it or not, there is email campaign software that has all this figured out. I ran the email campaigns for a very large credit union a few years back, we'd send out 50K a pop. Anyway, I'm chalking this year up to learning experiences for all of us.

lemur wrote:id guess the "generate a unique URL for me!" script couldnt keep up with the "send an email!!" script that called it

Hmmm... I bet they forgot to put a hefty electrolytic capacitor across the email generating circuit to decouple it from the sending load. Beginner mistake...

At this point, they should just retrain the retrain the dipole magnets for a lower energy beam, and compensate by focusing to a higher beta-star. This will lessen interference from the UHF band, and allow them to increase the TCP window size to 64kb. As long as they monitor the voltage, outgassing shouldn't be much of a problem - at least not for the first few hours - and in the next go around they can use a proper regulator.

Please retain this email and use this private link to put your ticket(s) on the HAVE list if you find that you have tickets you cannot use. You can start using this link to list your ticket(s) anytime after 12 noon, Wednesday, February 29. Thank you for your participation!

RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED

Sincerely,

I don't plan to sell my tickets, but if I should change my mind, how would I go about getting the link corrected?

rynoxPlease don't take random computer glitches as directed at you, or feel that they (or anyone who actually matters) is against your coming. To thrive in BRC you need some grit--logistics are difficult and weather not always amiable. So, practice your grit now, by deciding you are going to go, this year, next year, 2014 whenever, hell or high water. It's also a little more fun...

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri

rynox wrote:Add me to the people that got the RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED "link". Just another thing to make me feel like they really don't want this burgin there.

theyll make it right.. whether that means sending em ALL out again.. or not..

my guess is that they might know how many people didnt get the URL.. but possibly not the individuals who didnt get one.. (i dont know about their system.)

if that actually is the case i would guess itd just be a matter of finding where the problem started.. and resending from that point in the queue..

whatever it may be! there is nothing to stop them from making it all work.....as we can see here (and in a few cases in other mass emailings through this ticket season) it aint so easy to send out bulk emails like this!

(whether you have some "email campaign software" or not... one little misconfiguration anywhere can cause problems)

The "rate limit exceeded" message in this case is associated with the bit.ly link that is generated, meaning Bit.ly has a limit on the API calls a client can have during an hour. Not sure if this is because the BMORG has a free account or if Bit.ly simply can't handle that volume.

I don't mean to be critical, but I do this kind of thing for a living and there are tools and methodologies in place to handle this on even larger scales. That said, I appreciate the work they're doing and the pressure they're under.

theCryptofishist wrote:rynoxPlease don't take random computer glitches as directed at you, or feel that they (or anyone who actually matters) is against your coming. To thrive in BRC you need some grit--logistics are difficult and weather not always amiable. So, practice your grit now, by deciding you are going to go, this year, next year, 2014 whenever, hell or high water. It's also a little more fun...

Oh I'm going, come hell or high water, I'll make it to BRC some day. The whole process this year has become really frustrating (as it has been for everyone). I'm also kicking myself for not going last year when I had the opportunity.

NoTown, part of the Black Rock City Science Center, 9:15 & BasraSaskatchewan Canada

The issue has been resolved. Corrections are going out to those who'd received the bad link emails tonight, and the rest of the list will be mailed out tomorrow. Still plenty of time for both those with tickets and those seeking tickets to get the info in time.

Mosquitopilate wrote:too many problems, so what is deal now? the people who got emails are already in line or what ? For people willing to give 400$ should get ALL info not some info to SOME people

i kno you been on the edge of yer seat askin this question for a long time now..but as i read it...nobody is 'already in line' but ... read it for yourself and decide.... it looks like nobody will be advantaged by getting their email at any specific time because the link is not active until: the future.

vargaso wrote:OK, just got my email, still not sure how the queue will be ordered, says my link to register won't open until March 2, not sure if that's how all STEP emails are, or if that indicates my place in the queue. Here's the text, sans the link:

You are receiving this email because you registered for the Burning Man 2012 Main Sale but were not awarded tickets. Since you were not able to buy tickets through the Main Sale, you are now eligible to sign up for a chance to buy tickets that may become available through our Secure Ticket Exchange Program (STEP). Tickets available through STEP come from other buyers who are reselling their tickets they cannot use. All STEP tickets are sold at face value plus regular delivery & service fees.

If you originally registered for two tickets, you will be signed up for the chance to purchase two resold tickets via STEP.

If a ticket (or tickets, depending on your original registration) becomes available, you will receive an email with a link for purchase, including information about the price of the ticket that has come available. You will be offered the first ticket(s) available to you, regardless of the price tier - tickets are sold for face value plus applicable delivery & service fees. Please note that none of your original credit card info has been stored, so you will need to be prepared with a credit card to complete the purchase (and it needn't be the same card you originally signed up with.) You will have 72 hours to purchase the ticket(s) using your unique link. Purchase links will expire after 72 hours, at which time the ticket(s) will be released to the next person on the list. If you decline because the face value of the ticket is above what you are willing to pay, you will lose your place on the list and cannot sign up again.

STEP will not likely have a large amount of tickets available. It is meant to be a safe, secure resale option to help facilitate the exchange of tickets within the Burning Man community. If the list for people seeking tickets becomes untenably long, we will pause sign ups. You should not depend solely on STEP for a ticket to Burning Man for 2012. We encourage you to look to your friends, camp mates and immediate community for other opportunities to buy tickets. If you do buy tickets directly from another ticket holder, please don't pay more than face value.

As with all Burning Man 2012 ticket sales, you can only buy tickets once, regardless of whether it was through the Pre-Sale, Main Sale, or STEP.

Please read all of these instructions carefully, then click the link below to begin the process of converting your original registration to a request for a place on the WANT list. (NOTE: Your link will not be active until 12 noon (PST) Friday, March 2)

vargaso wrote:The "rate limit exceeded" message in this case is associated with the bit.ly link that is generated, meaning Bit.ly has a limit on the API calls a client can have during an hour. Not sure if this is because the BMORG has a free account or if Bit.ly simply can't handle that volume.

I don't mean to be critical, but I do this kind of thing for a living and there are tools and methodologies in place to handle this on even larger scales. That said, I appreciate the work they're doing and the pressure they're under.

[quote="vargaso"]OK, just got my email, still not sure how the queue will be ordered, says my link to register won't open until March 2, not sure if that's how all STEP emails are, or if that indicates my place in the queue. Here's the text, sans the link:

[quote]You are receiving this email because you registered for the Burning Man 2012 Main Sale but were not awarded tickets. Since you were not able to buy tickets through the Main Sale, you are now eligible to sign up for a chance to buy tickets that may become available through our Secure Ticket Exchange Program (STEP). Tickets available through STEP come from other buyers who are reselling their tickets they cannot use. All STEP tickets are sold at face value plus regular delivery & service fees.

If you originally registered for two tickets, you will be signed up for the chance to purchase two resold tickets via STEP.

If a ticket (or tickets, depending on your original registration) becomes available, you will receive an email with a link for purchase, including information about the price of the ticket that has come available. You will be offered the first ticket(s) available to you, regardless of the price tier - tickets are sold for face value plus applicable delivery & service fees. Please note that none of your original credit card info has been stored, so you will need to be prepared with a credit card to complete the purchase (and it needn't be the same card you originally signed up with.) You will have 72 hours to purchase the ticket(s) using your unique link. Purchase links will expire after 72 hours, at which time the ticket(s) will be released to the next person on the list. If you decline because the face value of the ticket is above what you are willing to pay, you will lose your place on the list and cannot sign up again.

STEP will not likely have a large amount of tickets available. It is meant to be a safe, secure resale option to help facilitate the exchange of tickets within the Burning Man community. If the list for people seeking tickets becomes untenably long, we will pause sign ups. You should not depend solely on STEP for a ticket to Burning Man for 2012. We encourage you to look to your friends, camp mates and immediate community for other opportunities to buy tickets. If you do buy tickets directly from another ticket holder, please don't pay more than face value.

Thanks for posting and I know you are trying to shed some light on this situation. So what is the 29th about? Really why didn't I get an email, and did the email say what time on March 2?

I posted before reading all the posts, getting a little jumpy. Last year I only had to wait online for a zillion hours, this year is like Chinese water torture. I do appreciate the moderators like Trilobyte replying so quickly.